The men’s basketball team will take on Southwest Adventist University to kick off the 2013-2014 season – Texas Wesleyan’s first year in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC). Of the 29 regular season dates, the Rams will host 17 games and will hit the road for the remaining 12. Texas Wesleyan made the move after a decade in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC).

"I am really excited about the opportunity and move into the Sooner Conference this year," Head Coach Brennen Shingleton said. "This is the elite basketball conference in the NAIA – the SAC has five different national champions in the past ten years. The competition level will be enormous and we will have our challenges night in and night out.

“We are fortunate to get some quality home games to start the year. I am extremely excited about getting started," he said.

Basketball Season Begins Nov. 2

Texas Wesleyan will host the first five games of the season, with the regular season opener on Nov. 2 against Southwest Adventist University. The next three games will be against RRAC members: Texas College (Nov. 4), Our Lady of the Lake (Nov. 6), and Paul Quinn (Nov. 11). The first home-game stretch ends with a match against Mid-America Nazarene (Nov. 16).

Later in the month the Rams will travel to San Antonio to take part in the Halo Classic, hosted by Our Lady of the Lake University on Nov. 22-23, before hosting the Clifford Classic right after Thanksgiving (Nov. 29-30).

First SAC Competition

The first conference game will be Dec. 5 when the Rams host Mid-America Christian University, which finished tied for third in the SAC standings last season. The first conference road game of the season will follow, when the Rams travel to Shawnee, Oklahoma to tip-off against Oklahoma Baptist University. OBU finished second in the SAC last season with a 12-4 conference record. Prior to last season, the Bison's finished first in the SAC standings for three consecutive seasons.

Texas Wesleyan will play an exhibition game Dec. 17 against NCAA Division I Abilene Christian University at Moody Coliseum. The Rams won the last meeting against the Wildcats and own the series record between the two teams at 18-12.

Schedule for 2014

• Jan. 4: Rams host John Brown University, which finished first in the SAC standings last season after posting a 14-2 conference record.
• Feb. 22: Final home game of the season against conference opponent Oklahoma City University
• March 1: Rams travel to Plainview to take on Wayland Baptist University